If families are on your school's website and can’t find the answers they’re looking for, the problem isn’t the user, it’s the content.

For years, we’ve relied on tools like Google Analytics to track clicks, page views, and bounce rates. Helpful? Yes. But now, with AI-powered chatbots like Ask AI, we’re finally seeing something even more valuable: intent. We’re learning not just where people go on our sites but what they’re actually trying to find in the first place.

We recently analyzed tens of thousands of real chatbot questions, and what we found was clear: Families want answers without needing to dig through PDFs or click through layers of menus. Those questions are signals, patterns, and priorities that can help you spot the gaps, clean up the clutter, and create a site that works the way families expect it to.

If your school has added an AI chatbot like Ask AI, it can help surface those answers quickly, and give your team even more information to create a better user experience.

1. Make Core Information Easy to Find

Ask AI can only answer questions based on the content it’s trained on or has access to, so if users often ask, “What time does kindergarten start?” make that info easy to find in a “Daily Schedules” section on your homepage or FAQ page, not just inside a handbook.

or...

If “lunch menu” questions are asked often, make it easily accessible, not tucked inside the dining office subpage or password protected portal.

What to do:

• Review unanswered questions in Ask AI’s analytics dashboard.
• Identify patterns, like frequent questions about letter days, drop-off times, or summer school.
• Create or update high-traffic content pages with these topics in mind.
• Use plain language, bullet points, and mobile-friendly formats.
• Add internal page anchors or headings so Ask AI can direct users to the exact part of a page.

2. Keep Training with Real Questions

AI-powered chatbots improve when they learn from what users actually ask, not what we think they’ll ask. Each unanswered or misunderstood question is a chance to improve.

What to do:

• Schedule regular reviews of Ask AI transcripts.
• Flag unanswered or misdirected queries that could be resolved with better training.
• Add those answers to your frequently asked questions and tag them in Ask AI’s Knowledge Base.
• Keep a rolling list of “hot topics” like calendar dates or bell schedules—and keep them current.

If multiple users are asking about suspensions or fairness in consequences, you could link to a student-friendly explainer page on behavior expectations and how decisions are made.

Keep Reading: We Analyzed 21K Chatbot Questions: Here’s What Users Asked

3. Connect Ask AI to Live Systems

Ask AI becomes far more powerful when it can pull from dynamic sources, like your calendar, staff directory, or academic catalog, instead of static or outdated pages.

What to do: Work with your web team or provider to integrate Ask AI with:

• Your school and athletic calendar (for real-time event answers)
• Your staff directory (so users can get contact info quickly)
• News pages, blogs, or any enrollment or registration pages for updated information or deadlines.
• Review your refresh schedules to keep these integrations clean and accurate.

If a parent asks, “When is the 8th grade graduation?” and you’ve synced your calendar feed, Ask AI can give an exact date and time from a trusted source.

4. Support Families in Multiple Languages

Families who don’t speak English fluently often feel left out of important school communications, but language shouldn’t be a barrier to school communications on your site. With the ability to read and answer in 45+ languages, Ask AI can bridge that gap and make your story more accessible.

What to do:

• Promote Ask AI’s multilingual support in newsletters, registration packets, and website banners.
• Test common questions in Spanish, Mandarin, or other languages to confirm their accuracy.

Spanish-speaking families asked multiple questions like “¿Qué necesito para inscribir a mi hijo?”—and Ask AI delivered helpful answers. The more you can connect with your users, the better the experience.

Keep Reading: AI Chatbots for Schools: Everything You Need to Know

5. Use Chatbot Analytics to Improve Navigation

Ask AI gives you a direct line to what people are actually searching for and struggling to find. It’s a window into user behavior that can inform broader decisions about site navigation, content, and user experience.

What to do:

• Review reports on top queries, unanswered questions, and patterns.
• Identify what content users ask for most often but still can’t easily access.
• Check your ratings! Users can rate their experience and submit their feedback

Then, use this data to:

• Redesign or simplify your site’s navigation
• Reorganize FAQs into categories that reflect actual usage
• Prioritize which outdated PDFs or buried policies need web-friendly summaries

If many users are asking “When does school start?”, but it’s buried under a multi-page calendar PDF, you might call it out on a new-family resources page.

6. Improve the Tone and Clarity of AI Responses

Tone matters, especially when families ask more personal or sensitive questions. If the AI feels cold, a flat “I don’t have that information” can feel dismissive.

What to do:

• Customize Ask AI’s tone to match your school’s values: respectful, helpful, and encouraging, or formal, for example.
• Include redirect options like: “Would you like to contact a staff member?” or "Here’s where to find more support for your concern.”
• Regularly audit your chatbot’s responses to questions about sensitive topics and revise as needed.

When a student writes “I got suspended and no one talked to me,” the AI shouldn’t reply with a flat “I don’t have that information.” Instead, it could respond with, “That sounds difficult. You can talk with your school principal or counselor about your situation. Want help finding their contact info?”

These "fallback questions" allow the chatbot to suggest designated contacts if it can't resolve a user's question.

7. Teach and Support Digital Citizenship

Some students will test the bot by asking silly, off-topic questions. That’s expected…And yes, some are playful, and some are inappropriate. What matters is how you respond and guide. and setting clear expectations helps.

What to do:

• Add a short “How to use this chatbot” note or pop-up on first use.
• Include usage expectations in your Acceptable Use Policy or handbook.
• Set up the AI's Knowledge Base to redirect when students enter off-topic or inappropriate questions.

For questions like “I hate you,” the bot can use language like, “Let’s stay focused on school-related questions. If you need to talk to someone about a personal concern, here’s a resource that may help.”

Key Takeaway

Ask AI is showing you what families care about. When you treat those insights as a guide, your website becomes more helpful, accessible, and welcoming. And isn’t that the goal?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. At Finalsite, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.